Ember & The Black Ring
by Ddraigtanto
Summary: When Ember goes down to the beach with her friend Flame one day, she encounters a strange ring. Unaware of its dark properties, she happily tries it on and shows it off to her companion. However, as time passes, she suddenly finds herself blighted with increasingly bad luck; worse still, no matter how hard she tries, she can't get the damn ring to come off...
1. Prologue: Two Rings

**The 20th Century dawned, storm winds billowed over England, subjecting Cheshire to black clouds, cold rain and the crash of thunder and lightening over the darkened countryside of the Chadminster Estate.**

**Two dragonesses walked with a human servant out of the gardens under leather cloaks to protect from the rain; one dragoness, Elizabeth, was older, an albino, with a mask covering part of her scarred face; the younger, her kinsman, was a regular white, with fair skin and a disapproving expression upon her face. The human carried a shovel tiredly over his shoulder, the bottoms of his boots thick with wet and sticky mud as they trooped back home.  
**

"But godmother, please!" the younger protested. "We can do such good with those rings. We, we could take the throne of England and save our people!"  
"_No, _Emily." She snapped. "...That ring is evil. No good can come of such parasitic relics. We've lost the other one. We don't know whose on the other end anymore, whose suffering for our benefit." She shook her head. "I was such a fool. I should have known never to rely upon those rings."  
"But we do know who stole it, that idiot who fled north with it!" Emily continued. "If that bastard choses to wear it, well, he deserves it, he's a thief! Let him rot in Scotland!"  
Elizabeth turned and smacked her goddaughter, her actual parents and Elizabeth's cousins, Lord Eric and Lady Margaret, had begrudgingly agreed to dispose of the Ring of Fortune after its twin had been stolen. However, it was very clear that they were just as willing to try to continue using it, just as they were willing to attempt to put its twin on the dragon she had been betrothed to, it was an opportunity to end a feud, and she'd blown it: How Elizabeth had paid the price when she tried to offer it to him as a wedding ring those many years ago.

"...But what if he doesn't wear it?" Elizabeth asked: "What if he sells it to some poor sod and they wear it, or give it as a gift to some loved one? What if he just throws it in the sea and is done with it? At best, the Ring of Fortune is useless now, at worst, we could be subjecting _anyone_ to a cruel and blighted fate. No! I shan't do it. I'll have no part in it! I never want to see those rings again!" Her face darkened. "If you have any decency, you shan't go back there."  
"But... Godmother." Emily begged. "Without it, our luck will fade. What of our family? What of _England_?!"  
Elizabeth paused, their family had been tied deeply into England's fates since the days of Edwyn the White, their family's progenitor, back when England was a broken collective of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms; they'd seen their home evolve from a tiny, Anglo-Saxon kingdom, into a united English nation, into the British Empire which ruled a third of the world: More than just a small share of that growth was down to luck, and the Chadminsters had been enjoying the blessing of the ring's luck for more than a thousand human years.  
"...I don't know." She finally replied: "But England is strong, she'll manage I'm sure. Times may be hard for our island nation, and for us, but we must stay strong with her." She sighed. "That ring is useless, Emily. We have to let go of our dream to rule this land. It's never going to happen, and if it does, how much have we given up to get there? How many people have suffered for our dream? We're not the same dragons as our ancestors. We're not good dragons anymore, and I want to spend what's left of my life making peace with the lord."

Elizabeth stopped, curling a wing around her goddaughter and hugging her tightly.  
"I love you, godmother." Emily whispered. "And I'll make this work, I'll find a way to live up to our family name."  
"I'm sure you will, my child." the albino dragoness softly cooed. "But the rings are not the way. What good is our intentions if we're to achieve our desires on the backs of the suffering of innocents? Forget them, my darling, we do not need their luck." She pulled away. "...Don't, please don't go back there. Don't disturb the resting place of my son again. I don't know if I could forgive you if his grave was desecrated for such a foul intention..."

**With that, Elizabeth and Emily returned home to the warm, but Emily was not satisfied. While the household slept, she crept out into the dead of night, a shovel in paw; she was not prepared to let such gifts go to waste, she'd rather ask for forgiveness than permission...**

There was a patch of disturbed dirt underneath a large, stone statue of a young dragon. It cast a shadow over Emily as she carried a shovel in her forepaw. The young dragoness shuddered: This was wrong, she felt sick to her stomach digging up the grave of her own kinsman, even if he was a bastard... But she _had_ to: She needed that ring! She longed to have its beautiful, magical metal resting upon her talon again; its gifts would save England, and her family...  
She took a breath, it would be better if she did this quickly. Emily plunged her shovel into the ground and started digging, her forelegs ached and her scales shimmered with rainwater as she toiled.  
Eventually, she struck a small, wooden jewelry box. Emily jumped at it, pulling it from the ground and opening it, revealing its sole content: A single, golden ring, with a faintly glowing white crystal set into it. Her heart fluttered as she took it, and slipped it on, sliding it down to the base of the toe so it rested soundly against the joint. She smiled, twirling her talons and watching the gem sparkle on her paw. And yet, she felt no luckier than before. Her heart sunk, if only slightly: It was a beautiful ring, but it wasn't _lucky_.

She sighed, now all she had to do was wait...

* * *

**Author's notes:  
**

**EDIT: Changed the prologue to make it less spoilery of things to come; I also changed Elizabeth's and Emily's conversation; now, Elizabeth is totally opposed to any notion of the rings being used, and so Emily actively disobeys her godmother to take back the ring.**

**Edit2: **Darn, I'm quite indecisive about this chapter, aren't I? I've edited the chapter again now, this time to move the location of the ring from a random tree, to the grave of Elizabeth Chadminster's dead soon, David Chadminster. It makes Emily's plight into villainy much more obvious, and digging up a grave is much more impactful than digging up some random spot in a field; plus, it means nobody would chance upon the ring by accident: Only someone who knew it was there would dare to dig up a dead dragon's resting spot. **  
**


	2. Chapter One: The Red Prince

**2013, and a rare occurrence had befallen the Isle of St. Kilda, which brought joy to the people of the Avalarian Kingdom of the Isles: Good weather. For once, the winds had died down and the sun was shining generously over their island home; the same could be said from Shetland to Orkney: If not for the Empress Ddraigtanto, Ember's mother's liege, and her declaration of war on the neighbouring Empire of Sekeolath a few weeks prior, the day would've been utterly perfect.**

This Avalarian kingdom was ruled by Queen Sasha the Gentle of House Springdawn. Her daughter, Princess Ember Springdawn, was sleeping softly in her bed, even as thick bars of sunlight shone through her windows, slowly cooking her under her sheets. It would not do to waste such pleasant weather, not when she would be entertaining guests...

"Ember, darling..." Sasha purred into her daughter's ear, her soft tone danced along a Scottish lilt as she spoke. "Ember..." Sasha gently shook the resting child, brining her out of her sleep. "...Ah, there's my young princess. Come now Ember, you've got to get up. Or have you forgotten who we're to be meeting today?"  
She stirred, grumbling as she slowly returned to consciousness. "Oh..." she groaned. "What time is it?"  
"Seven-thirty, in the morning." Sasha replied. "Come on dear, you don't want to be late for Prince Flame's arrival from the Balearic Islands now, do you?"  
That did the trick, Ember bolted up right. "Flame? Oh my! Oh could you let me oversleep like that?! Flame's coming!" She jumped out of bed, wiping sleep from her eyes as she went. "Is he here yet? Do I still have time to get ready?"  
Sasha chuckled. "Of course, dear. His father's ship isn't due to arrive until nine. You've got plenty of time to have breakfast and tidy yourself up for him. There's no rush."  
But Ember had flown off into her own little world, throwing over her neck her characteristic heart-shaped ruby pendant and searching through gowns, jewellery and other accessories. "Oh, god, whatever should I wear? I want to look like I've made an effort! I've missed him so much, emails and video chat can only do so much."  
"Ember, darling, calm down." Sasha smiled, padding over and hugging her young daughter. "...Don't worry. Flame has always thought you a beautiful young girl. Just be yourself, and don't worry about if he's going to like you or not. He wouldn't have made the effort to cross the seas like this if he didn't want to be with you."  
With that, Sasha gave her daughter a quick kiss on her forehead, and left her to get up. The little dragoness stretched and yawned under her sheets, which made a convincing offer to look the other way if she stole another five minutes underneath them. She blinked herself awake, her eyes resting on her end table. She reached over and picked up a small, framed picture: A picture of handsome, middle-aged red dragon, with a white underbelly and a kindly smile under bright eyes. Ember smiled sadly as she gazed at the image, kissing her paw and resting it against the glass cover. "Morning Dad..." She spoke gently, before setting down the picture, and getting up and ready for the day...

**Ember and Flame were both very young, both barely 11 dragonyears old, but they were already fairly smitten to one another. Out of the two, Flame was slightly older, being born in 1900 (compared to Ember, who was born in 1903).  
Both dragons were dragons of quite some significance. Flame was the only son of King Korinth of the Avalarian Balearic Islands, and was his heir, as Ember was Sasha's. Their relationship had been gently encouraged by both families for years, as an opportunity to merge their houses and unite their kingdoms; they were very far away from one another, but their friendship was unshakable... Even if Flame was very childish compared to Ember.**

In the end, Ember had conceded to her mother's wisdom, and had simply kept to her necklace and having an hour long session of soaking in a hot bath, brushing teeth, polishing claws and horns and oiling her wing membranes so their were glossy, moisturised and soft to the touch.  
She sat with her mother on the city's transit harbour. The smell of sea salt hung in the air and seagulls cried as they circled the port. The young dragoness buzzed with excitement as she sat at her mother's side.  
"Look! Look!" Ember cried, pointing. "The ships! They're here!"  
On the horizon was a number of small Avalarian warships, flying the flags of the Balearic Islands. One of the ships broke away from the formation and docked into the harbour, escorted by two smaller patrol boats. From the patrol boats came a number of men from Korinth's Royal Guard who lined up and stood to attention as the king, the queen and his son disembarked.  
On any other occasion, Ember would maintained some restrain, but not for Flame: She cried out in joy and ran over, hugging him.  
"Flame!" She cried, as she continued to squeeze the life out of him. "Ooh, it's you! It's actually you!"  
"Yeah, Ember, it's me..." He choked, trying to wriggle himself some breathing room as Ember remembered her own strength and relinquished her grip, blushing.  
"Was, was your trip okay?" She asked. "It's been too long since we caught up."  
The red dragon chuckled. "We talked online just last night. The ship was fine, but the waters are choppy, and it's too cold up here." He smiled, cuddling the pink dragoness in return. "But I do admit, it's been too long since we were last together, in the flesh..."

**The two households, House Springdawn and House Cabrera (Flame's family name), walked back to the palace. Korinth and Selturir, Flame's mother, weren't planning on staying long: Selturir would be sailing back to the Balearic Islands, and Korinth, as the High Admiral of the Avalarian Naval under the Empress, was to be leading the navy into war. Sekeolath was the aggressor, having declared war on the Kingdom of Denmark; naturally, Avalar jumped to defend their ally and neighbour, but it did mean that able-bodied men like Korinth would be needed, and he refused to shy away from duty: His father, Kemen De Cabrera, had been a proud and infallible warrior of the Middle Ages, hired by the Christian Spanish, hundreds of years ago, to take back the Balearic Islands from its Muslim rulers. But when they failed to pay him his dues, he rose up and took the islands for himself, giving himself a kingdom, and his descendants a worthy inheritance.**

...However, Sasha had her worries; her husband, the late King Torch, died in 2005, an early casualty of Malefor's second return to the world, never having the chance to see The Dark Master's ultimate failure and defeat in 2007. Ember and Sasha had never been quite the same since, and the Scottish queen was very nervous about people she cared about going off to war.

"Oh, good king, must you go off to fight like this?" Sasha asked over a cup of tea. "The Empress is a good friend of both our families. Surely if you only ask, she would understand if you back out of the war?"  
He laughed aloud. "Back out of a war?! My dear friend, I couldn't abandon the call to duty from my liege, even if I wanted to. Ddraigtanto helped us, she took in our realms and has kept us economically strong long before we bent the knee to her. It is time I return the favour. I have my family to protect, and I shall fight for them _and_ the empire."  
"Yeah!" Flame smirked. "He's going to kick those Sekeolasian invaders back to Sekeolath! He'll overthrow Empress Nightshade and restore the rightful queen to their kingdom." He looked up at his father, he understood the dangers, Nightshade had kidnapped King Korinth once before, and so there was a subtle demand for revenge ever since.  
"But Korinth, sir..." Ember spoke. "We all know you're a great dragon, and a good king. Surely you'd be better suited at home, so you can lead your people and be there for Selturir and Flame?"  
The great, red fire dragon king paused, frowning. "...You are too kind, young princess. I know you mean well, you have a good heart. But this is my duty." He smiled, looking to Sasha. "You have a caring daughter, Queen Sasha. She'll be a caring queen one day."

**Korinth couldn't stay long, his ships were blocking up St. Kilda's tiny harbour, and fishermen and trading boats wanted to dock and offload their wares. With a kiss and a fond word, Selturir and Korinth went their separate ways, leaving Flame with Ember and her mother on the island; he'd miss them during his time with Ember, but he was happy nonetheless.  
**  
Flame was a cheerful, confident dragon, with a carefree personality which seemed to come almost in spite of his upbringing, which was even stricter than that of Ember's, whose mother was much softer in her authoritative stance. It wasn't Korinth's fault he was how he was towards his son: He was born in 1513, and had a very traditional, authoritarian upbringing; the only area where Korinth's father had given him some freedom was in who he married, for he'd fallen utterly head over heels in love with Selturir, a lowborn daughter and barmaid for a tavern owner on the island where Korinth had grown up; it was Selturir's gentle but assertive nature which tempered her husband's fire, and made him a better parent than his father.

...That personality of his was at its peak when he was in the company of Ember, and they spared no time talking a walk about the castle town as they caught up on lost time.  
"It's a very rare thing indeed, seeing the sun over this little island of yours." Flame smirked, his slight Majorcan accent was in stark contrast to the Scottish lilt Ember had inherited from her mother.  
"Aye, it is indeed." She nodded. "It'd be a shame to waste it indoors. We get an entire week of this, according to the British MET Office. The beach is really nice in this climate. We've put up some wind turbines to take advantage of our windy climate, and look!" She jumped up into the air, flying upwards as a curious Flame followed; she pointed to a huge orchard of new woodland. "_Trees!_ We're going to plant trees on the island. A little forest..." She grinned. "It took a team of nature dragons ages, but we've managed to make a kind of tree with roots strong enough to handle the wind." She swooped down, and gently settled down on the pavement again, Flame landing alongside.  
Flame scoffed. "We've always had trees on _my _islands." He teased.  
"Quiet, you! This is cool!" The pink dragon jabbed. "We've gone from a tiny little island of 300 people, into a capital of an Avalarian kingdom with more than _5000 _people living here. There'll be even more people here soon! It's my kingdom, it's cool Flame, _it's cool_."  
"Alright, alright. Chill out. You're about two steps off going all _crazyface_ on me again."  
"Crazyface?!"  
Flame shrunk back. "Ah, there it is..." He squeaked, grinning nervously. "...I love you?"

* * *

**EDIT: Corrected the year at the start of the story: The Avalo-Sekeolasian War for Denmark begins in the late Summer of 2013, NOT 2014!**


	3. Chapter Two: The Little Marketplace

**Thankfully, Ember calmed down as she caught sight of the town market assembling for trade that morning; food, drink and other baubles and pretty things were placed upon scenic little stalls and outside shops to be traded that day: The sight was exciting, the smell enticing. Ember had seen it all before, but fond memories and exciting bargains never dulled in the face of her sheer enthusiasm.**

Ember had gotten her heart necklace from this marketplace years ago, she could remember it like it was just yesterday: She was but a little hatchling of four years, huddled under the back of her parent's legs as she'd gone into the market for the first time. A trader from overseas had docked up, selling an array of magic items, brining different benefits: The necklace had been there, and the little dragoness begged her parents to buy it for her. She could remember her mother smiling, and telling her to ask her father; she could remember putting on her cutest face and her biggest, puppy-dog eyes and begging her father to buy it for her; and she could remember him laugh, and smile, and give in. The necklace was much, much too big for her back then, but she loved it dearly, and wore it every day ever since. The necklace's red, heart-cut ruby had an echantment upon it which supposedly gave the wearer the power to heal people of their smaller wounds without leaving scars, but she'd never used it for that: The necklace gave her happy memories of her father, and cherished that above any sort of magic.

Ember happily sunk her teeth into a beef pastry from a food stall, some of the traders of cheaper goods had no qualms in giving their homeland's princess free stuff, and she had no qualms in taking and merrily eating it; however, other stalls offered far more expensive and high-ticket items, such items couldn't really be given away when the trade was the sole means the traders earned their living, even when the princess of their island home wandered the markets with her Spanish boyfriend.  
"Oooh!" Ember cooed: "Look!" She darted over to the jeweller's stall, which was set up just outside his shop, where he either made his own jewellery with materials orders from overseas, or bought and sold imported jewellery: In his stall was a wide range of specially imported, magic bracelets, necklaces, amulets and rings; all of which arranged in neat rows on display atop his stall.  
"Do you really need more jewellery?" Flame asked as he watched Ember browse the wares.  
"Is that a trick question?" She smirked.  
"You hardly even wear it. All you ever wear is that necklace."  
"...So?" She pouted. "It's nice to _have_!" She stuck out her tongue at him, and returned to looking at the glittering array as Flame smirked and shrugged. Her eyes settled on something rather strange: A simple, white-gold ring, etched with draconic runes, with a black diamond set into its face.  
"Wow, this is pretty." She spoke, admiring the ring.  
"Ah, that..." The shopkeeper, a rather aged dragon artisan, spoke up. "That's quite a rarity. _The Ring of Shadows_, wearing that ring gives you the power to cast yourself into a shadow veil, like shadow dragons. It's great for hiding and stealthy endeavours."  
"Cool." Ember smiled. "How much is it?"  
The shopkeeper grinned, and pointed to a sign, and Ember's smile vanished.  
"A thousand drakemarks?!" She blurted. "That, that's an awful lot for a ring."  
"...It is." Shopkeep nodded. "...But how many pieces of jewellery give you the power of other dragon elements?"  
Ember sighed, she hadn't expected something to cost that much, she didn't carry a lot of money on her person.  
"I could buy it for you?" Flame offered.  
"Flame, no!" She gasped. "I can't possibly ask you to spend that much money on me! That's insane." She winced, turning to the shopkeeper. "Sorry. It's really pretty though..."

**Ember had to hand it to Flame: Childishness aside, he was a very good-natured dragon, and had a great mature and charitable side to his character. She was lucky to have him.**  
**...Her encounter with The Ring of Shadows had left her with rings on the brain: She didn't normally wear darker jewellery (that was more Cynder's expertise), but Ember could make that kind of thing work, right?**  
**...Asking Flame, he laughed: As far as he was concerned, she'd never be able to pull off dark jewellery. **  
**Ember pouted for a while after his verdict, determined to prove him wrong somehow...**

The two dragons soon settled down to lunch at a cafe on one of the harbour's piers. Ember's pasty from before had worn off and so, in her hunger, she had no issues with Flame buying them both lunch.  
"...Perhaps I could be proven wrong." The red dragon muttered over a sandwich. "...If I saw you in darker jewellery than normal, and you did look really good, maybe, maybe I'll give in and agree with you..." He smirked. "I still think you're cute enough already though. I don't see why you're so obsessed... Your family is quite well off, maybe your mother will buy you that ring for a birthday present or something?"  
"Maybe..." Ember nodded, caught up in a small track of her own thought. "...It'd be cool to be able to shadow veil like Cynder." She concluded: "...I'd always be able to win hide and seek, every time for the rest of my life."  
Her boyfriend chuckled. "As if, you wouldn't even know what to do with a power like that. And you'd get bored with it eventually."  
"I wouldn't!" She protested. "I'd be the best shadow dragoness ever! I'd show you!"  
"Would not."  
"Would too!" She huffed. "...I'm not going to be childish about this, Flame. If I ever get that ring, we'll see how good a shadow dragon I'd make."  
But Flame wasn't finished teasing. "With those cute pink curves of yours, you'd no be winning any hide and seek games with Cynder, that's for sure."  
Ah, he had her cornered: Take the compliment and lose the argument, or argue the toss? Nope, she was blushing: She loved it when he talked nice to her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, and then it was _his _turn to blush furiously; the argument rather lost its momentum after that...

**Ember didn't really have the heart to hold angry sentiments with anybody for long, least of all Flame. They were both very young, unusually young to have a relationship like theirs, but they'd known each other since they were little, and had been gently groomed into liking each other. They'd been through a lot together, and he was very supportive of Ember when her dad died. They may not have been very romantic with one another, and anything more intimate than kissing and deep embrace was beyond their prepubescent minds; however, they cared very much for one another, and neither dragon nor dragoness could quite imagine their lives without the companionship provided by the other.**

**Time ticked on from a comfortable afternoon to a picturesque evening; they'd both lost track of time, as was a bad habit of theirs: It looked like their trip to the beach might have to wait until tomorrow...**


	4. Chapter Three: Angels Are Watching

**Flame's first day on St. Kilda with Ember had been great for the both of them, but now they had worn themselves out, and sleep beckoned. When Flame set his joking manner aside and acted with more maturity, he had leaned much from his father, and was a very chivalrous dragon towards his girlfriend: Curling up around her with a wing over Ember's back when she slept, keeping her warm through the Scottish night.**

**Ember herself slept very happily: Good dreams visited her in her rest...**

_Oh, what a fine day it was! What a glorious princess Ember made, and a fine castle she lived within. A long, flowing pink dress clung warmly to her body as she skipped merrily down the corridors of her palace, the sunlight flooding through great, arched windows_**.  
**_This avid, bubbling, carefree happiness sent a comforting glowing thaw through Ember which warmed her right down to the inner circles of her soul; such joy could only come from one part of her life, and the wishful daydreaming of her younger self._

_Two well-dressed servants opened double-doors into the courtroom, a great, checker-tiled hall where Flame, her mother and her father Torch, a light blue dragon with white, blochy 'socks' at his paws and the tip of his tail, happily sat awaiting her arrival. She loved her mother, she loved flame, she loved the dress and the magical, fairytale castle; but it was the presence of her father who made this a dream the young dragoness cherished: His presence in the dream seemed to alter it entirely, and two instances of the dream were never the same._

_"My darling Ember." He cried out, standing to attention to join her, smiling. "...You quite beautiful in your pretty dress."  
"Oh, thank you Dad!" She beamed, hugging his leg. "Look at my new dress! isn't it pretty?!"  
He smiled with a nod. "It is indeed. Come now, give us a twirl. It looks as wonderful and silky as one of the dresses of the ancient Queen Zephyra herself."  
Ember was only too happy to oblige, rearing up and spun about on her hind paws, the soft silk brushing comfortably against her sides as she went and landed on her forepaws: An elegant display of the finery she wore.  
"Ah, that's my wonderful little girl." Torch chirped, his accent charismatically Scottish, as the pink dragoness sat alongside his leg, brushing up and rubbing her head against the great limb: Torch was a normal sized dragon, but alongside his young daughter, he looked mighty._

_They spent an entire day together, Flame had gone off to do his own thing, and her mother had work, leaving Ember and Torch to enjoy the company of one another.  
They went down to the beach, the warm sun made the creamy sands hot beneath their feet: All the better for playing in the dancing waves as they lapped against the shore. Oh, what a glorious day this was for young Ember, watching her father gaily laugh and feign startled surprise as he jumped away from the attacking tide like a frightened cat. Ember had set her sights on building sandcastles, with no wanting for ambition as she set to sculpting the largest and best sandcastle she could muster, a great aspiration to build a little empire all of her own, which only the gushing waves or the clumsy footing of her father could lay low._

_Ember loved spending time with her father like this, he never had a harsh word on his tongue nor a line of stress upon his brow. But as much as she loved to play about and have fun with Torch, she had moments when she liked to settle down, simply talking with him, and getting any worries she might have off her chest: She'd learned a lot from his wisdom, and she valued his conversation far more than she'd ever done in her past.  
"...And so you are Flame are still going strong?" He asked over the setting sun from the balcony of his daughter's bedroom later that day sat on cushions at a wooden table laden with candles and drink  
"Oh, yes!" She responded. "...He's a daftie, of course, and completely childish, but... I love him, I really do. He's my best friend in the entire world."  
"Ah, that is good to hear." He smiled. "I must beg your pardon, my dear, I go away for so long on my journeys and advantures nowadays. I do so often find myself otherwise engaged. It saddens me so that our lives have grown so far apart... I am so dreadfully sorry for putting you and your mother through it all."  
Torch hung his wing over his daughter's back, holding her fondly to his chest. "...She does miss you when you go away." The dragoness mumbled.  
A sigh escaped the dragon father, as he held Ember tighter. "I feared as such. This new journey of mine is going to be my longest yet, and I don't know what I'll find on this adventure, nor when I will be able to return home. But, know this, I hold you all deeply in my heart, and it tortures me to see you wanting for me like this..." He went quiet, thinking of what next to say. "...But, I'll always be with you, in spirit. In memories and in dreams, someday you may even be able to join me."  
Ember smiled. "I'd like to do that very much. Oh dad, why I can't go with you now?"  
"...You're too young, much too young, and you have all your life to live yet. Your place is here..." He kissed her forehead, standing and walking back into her room, softly tugging at her leg with a coiling grip of his tail. "But come now, to bed with you. You're going to have a busy day, and you'll need your strength..."_

_**Ember was reluctant to obey her father's order, but as soon as she curled up under her sheets, their warmth and soft fabric caressed her, she fell asleep before she even realised it was happening; the last thing she saw before her eyes closed was her father, watching over her with a loving smile and wet eyes...**_


	5. Chapter Four: The Sandy City

**Daylight poured into Ember's bedroom as another day of unusually good weather beckoned. She and Flame had been woken by her mother that morning, leaving Ember a little dazed after her dream the night before...**

They tucked into a warm, cooked breakfast in the family dining hall; a rich meal of sausages, bacon, eggs and potatoes, washed down with hot mugs of milky tea; it was a blander dish than Flame was used to, but he had grown accustomed to the food Ember ate, and was polite enough to eat it without quarrel.  
"So, what do you two little ones plan to do today?" Sasha asked the pair over that breakfast. "It's a wonderfully bright day."  
"I know." Ember responded, she smiled but she was otherwise distracted by the dream of the night before. "...I'm thinking of going down to the beach. It's pretty quiet normally, and it would be quite fun to play with Flame, don't ya think Flame?"  
The red dragon nodded. "Yeah. The water's a bit chilly, but it'd be cool anyway. We could do some fishing, or build sandcastles, or go swimming. It'll be great!"

**And so, a plan for their day was set out: They'd have breakfast, get washed and ready, then head down to the docks for lunch, before going to spend the day on the island's beach. The weather looked like it'd be holding up very well for it, so why not take advantage of it? It was a work day for most people, so it would be nice and quiet too!**

Just before leaving however, Ember went to go talk with her mother, about the dream she had the night before...

"So, you dreamt of your father, and it was a nice dream?" Sasha asked upon hearing Ember's tale. "...That sounds pretty nice."  
"Yeah, it was..." Ember spoke. "But, it was weird. Most of my dreams are quite similar, but Dad... Dad's behaviour in the dreams is always different. He's nice, but... Different..." Ember looked up to Sasha. "Mother, do you suppose... That, that Dad could've visited my dreams as a spirit? It was like he was actually there. Not just a picture you've made up in my head." She finished for her daughter.  
The mother dragoness smiled. "Do you want me to be honest with you?" Her mother spoke. "I have similar dreams." She smiled. "I know Torch, and he loves you, very much indeed."  
Ember's eyes widened. "So he really has been visiting my dreams?" She smiled weakly. "...Oh, Daddy..."  
"It's how spirits can guide and look after their loved ones if they can't be there in the flesh." Sasha chuckled to herself. "...He comes to my dreams, and he's like Prince Charming." There was a happy, wistful glisten in her eyes. "He come, a rose in his mouth. He bow down on one leg and offer it to me, asking if I might like to dance. We would waltz, and we'd embrace..." She trailed off, lost in her own thought, before sighing happily. "Oh, how warm the nights were in his company..."

**Ember didn't know exactly what Sasha meant by her last remark, but somehow, she got the feeling she didn't really ****_want _****to know. She simply went with Flame to get lunch: There was a hot-dog guy who was a zealous love of the royal family of House Springdawn, he always gave free hot dogs to Ember whenever she wanted them, and they were pretty good too!**

Ember didn't want to trouble Flame with her thoughts about her father. The dream, while happy, reminded her just how much she missed her father. She could remember when he went off the war, to help the Avalarians fight off Malefor's invasion, and then never returned, as if it was only yesterday; she could run the events of that day almost second by second in her head, and it hurt every time...

Lunch was eaten and washed down with bottles of fizzy drink, Ember and Flame went down to the beach. It wasn't too far away from the harbour, but it was

**_ just_**** far enough to be quiet, and tranquil...**

"Come on Ember!" Flame encouraged. "Come play next to the waves with me, unless you're scared of a little water!?" Flame was first to rush down to the lapping waves once she arrived, while Ember had taken to digging in the sand, attempting to build something with material and water through the labours of bucket and spade. However, this was a challenge she refused to allow to fall on death ears, the gauntlet had been thrown down, and so she must pick it up again!  
"I'm not scared!" She snorted. "I'll show you!"  
She ran over and joined him, and the pair played at the shore of the beach for age, dancing up and down the sandy beach's face as the waves gave chase and promptly retreated out to sea again in their regular motions. The pink dragoness also saw fit to give chase to her challenger, bounding after him in a zig-zagging pattern, intent on having her revenge against the Balearic prince: He'd soon taste cold, Scottish seawater for his insolence!  
"Ember! Ember" Flame chuckled as his companion doused him. "Stop it! We don't have any towels!"  
"You should've thought about that before you insinuated that I was a scaredycat!" She retorted, splashing him once again. "I could be building a sandcastle if..." She didn't have a chance to finish her monologue, as Flame then jumped into a nearby wave and utterly soaked her through! "Flame!" She squealed. "Flame! Get here now! I'm gonna teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

A small, beachside battle ensued as the two dragon play fought in the waves and then the water, rolling about while Ember proceeded to jeer and tease her opponent; her frame was much shorter and stockier than that of most dragonesses, but it proved very useful in giving her body strength in her tussle against a daft, red dragon with a big ego (and an even bigger nose).  
"Okay! Okay!" Flame gave in, laughing as Ember bested him. "You win, you win! Get off me!" Ember smirked and released her victim from her grip. "..._Father _always says it's not nice to to get into fights with _girls _anyway. It's not _princely_." He dusted himself down. "...I'm, erm, I'm out of practice!"  
Ember blew raspberries at him, smirking. "Bollocks. Even if I was an unfortunately coloured male, and not the _extremely cute dragoness __**everyone **__likes_, I'd still be able to beat you. I'm just that awesome."  
"Whatever." Flame scoffed. "Fine, you win. But I bet you can't build a better sandcastle than me."  
"Challenge Accepted." Ember smirked. "...I've already started!"

**Later...**

"Ancestors damn you!" Flame groaned, but still smiled. "How are you so good at this?! My homeland has _more _beaches than yours! Everything is made of _sand_stone! I should be the best sandcastle maker, not you!"  
Flame's efforts had been miserable compared to Ember's, mostly because she had a head start from before. It was still only a little castle: Four sandcastle towers, connected by little sand walls with a sandcastle keep inside, a little moat had been built around it and was filled with water from the sea; all it lacked was a little flag, and so a tiny twig which washed upon the shore had to do (It was a radio antenna, Ember claimed: It was a _modern _castle!). Flame's efforts weren't terrible, he'd immediately set about copying Ember's design as soon as he saw it, running back and forth from the beach to get more water; sadly, his clumsy footing saw him trip and crush half the compound in a disaster the likes of which Dragonkind had never seen before; it was like Godzilla got drunk, and took a nap on The Pentagon.

In the end, the two dragons saw best to simply work on the same project: A massive, sandcastle city. Flame would start by drawing lines in the sand as to where everything would be, and Ember would proceed to build it, using sand and seawater to make the project at reality; they'd then take a picture, and put it online as a sign of their triumph.  
Flame had learnt his lesson about rushing, and took his task with a slower, more careful precision; he'd already mapped out a pretty good 'road' layout with his claws in the sand: A grand avenue from Ember's big sandcastle, and a number of little sand 'roads' sprouted from it.  
Ember meanwhile had set about building another castle on the opposite side of Flame's avenue, and a number of little sand buildings would line the road on both sides; for this though, she needed wet sand, and lots of it! She made numerous lengths from the site to the tides, gathering what she needed and returning to do the construction: She was better at making a stable sandcastle than Flame anyway.

The weather helped. The skies were blue, and a fluffy white clouds were scattered along its canvas; it helped to create a comfortably warm temperature for Flame and Ember to have fun in.

However, on one run to the beach, Ember got a little... Distracted, and found herself looking in the rock pools at the tiny crabs and other critters which existed therein. Her legs were slightly tired from the laps she'd had to make, and the sandy city was coming along nicely: Flame wouldn't mind if she took a break, right? She'd already given him enough sand to do some of the work himself, and they were nearly done anyway! All that was left to do was to build a sand wall around the city, and that wouldn't be too hard to do.  
As she peered into the water's depths, she paused, seeing something sparkle faintly under its surface. Curiosity overtook the pink dragoness, and she reached in, feeling something small, round and smooth in the grip of her her paw with the find in its grip, she took a look, expecting it to be some kind of stone, and gasped: It was no stone! It was a ring...

* * *

**EDIT: Corrected a part of Flame's dialogue where he's supposed to be trying to egg Ember into playing with him. **


	6. Chapter Five: Her Lucky Find

**It was such a nice find. A gunmetal coloured ring, with a strange black gem set into its face with slight-handed, elaborate metalwork. Ember stared at the ring, fascinated: Lord only knows how long it had been in that pool, or washing about the sea, because it was filthy, caked in wet sand, saltwater and algae...**

"Hey Ember!" Flame called from across the beach. "Ember! Is everything alright over there?!"  
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She called back, trotting over with her find in paw. "Check out what I just found." The ring, down to it being soggy and covered in slimy muck, wasn't terribly pleasant for Ember to carry, but she presented it to Flame as she sat next to him, looking over the scene of their creation as the waves lapped at the shore. "I found this ring. Pretty cool, huh?"  
Flame looked at it, pulling a face. "Ew, it's all covered in gunk, and it smells awful!"  
"Wuss." Ember smirked. "It just needs a clean-up, then it'll be good as new."  
He frowned. "Seriously though, Ember, that ring's caked in real smelly crap. I wouldn't wear that, you don't even know where it's been. Or, anything. What if it belongs to someone?"  
Ember smirked. "Flame, please. It was left in a pool, for so long that it's covered in all manner of messy stuff, I get the feeling that whoever lost it probably isn't going to be looking for it anymore."  
"So..."  
"Finders keepers." Ember smirked.  
"Ember, come on..." Flame groaned. "Seriously, you don't know where it's been... Or even if it does anything!"  
Ember's face dropped. "Oh, gosh..." She mentioned. "I think you might be right."  
"See, yeah. I normally am..."  
"The ring... It's, it's speaking to me..." She looked up, staring at Flame with a face pulled. "It's telling me to... Kill... Prince Fame!" She then jumped at Flame, tumbling with him and giggling. "Oh no! Damn that ring! Now I have to bury you in the sand!"  
"Ember!" Flame chuckled. "_Buen dios, Ember!_ Stop it! You're insane!" He struggled to fend the pink dragoness off but, embarrassingly, she was the stronger dragoness: It was quite easy for her to pin him down. "Okay! Okay! You win! Just get off me!"  
Thankfully for Flame, Ember soon relented, helping the now very sandy Flame up from the ground. They were both caked in soggy sand after wrestling about through the beach; their city was laid to siege by battling draconic titans, and the rising waves which dragged the materials of the buildings back to the sea from whence they came.

**The skies had turned orange with the setting sun, and the winds blew cold: It was time to go back home. Ember carried her soggy, smelly treasure in her paw and soggy, smelly boyfriend following close behind...**

When they arrived at the palace, they saw the main hall busy with people, running around preparing things; Sasha quickly ran up to them.  
"Oh, by the ancestors, you two are filthy!" Sasha herself had clearly been under an intense regime of grooming and cleaning, and was clad in a rather pretty gown, and much more golden regalia than usual.  
"Yeah, we went to the beach, remember?" Ember smiled. "And... There was an altercation. I won."  
"You did not."  
Ember pulled a face. "Oh, please. I do believe you said 'Okay, okay, you win.'."  
Flame grumbled, which both Ember and her mother ignored.  
"Sorry Ember." The queen spoke. "I should've said before. We're holding a fund-raiser here for the war effort."  
"What?" Flame looked up. "Like a party or something?"  
"Flame, don't be daft. ...It's political."  
Sasha frowned. "I'm afraid it's rather both. We'll be sending the money we make for humanitarian aid for people in Denmark. I'm not sending what little men we have to their deaths, but I can still support my liege in other ways..." She sighed, snapping back into 'mother' mode. "Now, you two stink of the beach. You need to go have a wash and get ready. Ember, I trust you can get yourself sorted out so you're looking nice and proper?"  
Ember nodded with a smile. "Oh, I think I have just the thing..."

**A warm bath. O, in the bitter cold and howling winds of , retreating to her en suite and sinking into warm, soapy water was a revitalizing ritual for the likes of Ember. Normally, Ember would be quite happy to go to sleep after such a bath, St. Kildan nights were noisy affairs, with wind beating at the windows as if it was trying to break in: Ember could sleep through such a ruckus, and therefore could likely sleep through anything. Not tonight though! She was a princess, and tonight, it was time for her to dress up like one, properly...**

First though, she set about making her newly-found jewelry pretty again, before she'd set to making herself so. A basin of hot, soapy water and a vigourous wipe-down with a flannel: That'd clean it! Right?  
Actually, Ember surprised _herself_ with how easy the task of cleaning the black ring turned out to be; the dirt and grime seemed quite content to slip off the smooth, shiny metal and wash away down the sink, the soap leaving it with a pleasant, flowery smell: It was as if it was a brand new ring! You'd never have known it had been tossed about at sea for ancestors only know how long.

Content with her work, Ember dried off the ring, and returned to her bedroom, where Flame was also busy getting ready: Part of his luggage included some rather fetching dinner clothes in the form of a deep red formal jacket which flowed from neck to tail; Flame didn't look terribly comfortable in it.  
"God, I hate this stuffy, itchy suit." Flame grumbled. "Why do dragons even need clothes?!"  
"Because." Ember smiled. "They make you look handsome." She giggled, nuzzling his cheek. "A right proper Prince Charming. Much unlike down at the beach."  
Flame chuckled, propping up his posture and putting on an exaggeratedly aristocratic tone. "_Su propio príncipe de España, mi querida señora._" He spoke in Spanish, grinning.  
"Flame!" Ember playfully hit him in the shoulder. "You know I can't speak Spanish, quit it! It's no fun if I can't give proper comebacks to whatever you're blabbering on about!"  
"_Divertido?_" Flame continued to ramble. "_Mi querida princesa, no sé lo que dices! Es impropio que un príncipe se meten en 'diversión'. Yo nunca podría haber descubierto que, si no fuera por un desafortunado romance con un extraño dragón de color rosa y una pequeña escaramuza en una primera línea de playa!_"  
Ember scowled, pacing as Flame beamed smugly.  
"_Oh? An bhfeiceann tú? Nach bhfuil tú an ceann amháin ar féidir leo a rudaí eile seachas Draconic labhairt. Feicfidh mé blab díreach ar aghaidh agus ar ag tú i ghaelach , déanfaidh mé?_" Ember suddenly retorted, leaving Flame blank-faced. Ember giggled. "Gaelic. You're not the only one who's multilingual here."  
Flame still looked confused. "Errr... Can we call it a draw?"  
"Agreed." The pink dragoness nodded. "I wanted to show you my new ring anyway. I cleaned it up. Look!" She presented the ring to him, proudly showing off how its crystal glittered in the light.  
"Hmmm, you did a pretty good job on it... You just used soap and water?" He frowned. "Aren't you supposed to use polish on it something? I doubt it'll come out this good with just hot water and paw soap. It'd tarnish or something?"  
"Well, apparently not." Ember rebuked him, holding up the ring and peering through it. "Well, now we can see if I do indeed look good in darker stuff."

With that, Ember slipped the ring onto a toe of the left the paw. She sat on her haunches, admiring the ring as it sat in place.  
"How is it?" Flame asked.  
Ember smirked. "It's a bit tight, but it's fine! It looks pretty good on me, don't ya think?!"  
Flame groaned. "Yeah, okay. Fine, it looks great, and you look as pretty as always."  
Ember blushed, but she wasn't happy with his words of praise alone. "Kiss it." She instructed with her own falsely royal tone. "I am thy queen, One insists that you bow down and kiss thy grace's ring, show your adoration to your queen!"  
Flame rolled his eyes. "Well, if the lady insists..." He grumbled, obeying the orders of his 'queen'. "You look very nice. Are you ready to go?"  
"No I'm not." Ember snipped. "Go wait outside while I get ready. I want to surprise you."  
"But what if the dress you chose looks silly on you?" Flame asked in response, to which Ember gave him dagger eyes. "Okay leaving now!" He darted out the door, leaving Ember to enjoy privacy while she got dressed for the occasion of the night...


End file.
